


Appassionata

by Vett



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Horror, M/M, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-05-07 09:27:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14668158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vett/pseuds/Vett
Summary: Kaname is a serial killer, and Zero is his psychiatrist.





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> As a disclaimer: I came here for a good time, not a medically accurate time.
> 
> On a side note, I love the AO3 format.

"You may not be interested in what I have to say, but I am in the  _mood._ "

Crimson drips onto the stone ivory surface—slowly swallowing the relatively pure white ground with its filthiness: the vibrant hue of sexuality and wrath consuming the pure pigment of innocence. _How amusingly pragmatic for this to become a reflection of what's to come._

Kaname circled his companion like predator to prey. His every move is taken with strict calculation. His companion follows the movement of the wine-haired man with only his eyes, as she is tied quite tightly onto a steel throne, a situation which had proved to be undeniably paradoxical given the imbalance of power.

Kaname stops his pacing as he stands behind the other person. His back reflects the position of his companion as he licks off the crimson staining the sharp object handled by his right hand.

"But, then again, you  _have always_ shown me pathetic affection; have you not?"

His companion struggled against the binds at the accusatory suggestion. This action did not faze Kaname as he continued his previous action of cleansing his tools. Deep Burgundy engaged itself onto the sharp and opaque reflective surface of the knives.

"You know, I have always appreciated the flaxen tint and thickness of your locks. It always made me eager to sever it," Kaname spoke.

Once all his contraptions have been appropriately cleansed off the tainting crimson hue, Kaname leaned on the flat exterior that contained his most favored tools as he continued the one-sided dialogical discourse, "But, I'm not that type of person. I don't like taking away things with the knowledge that it will not inflict others any pain."

"Pain is a deep reminder. It's what makes  _us_  feel alive. But, seeing someone else in pain—that's a surreal experience not everyone is entitled to have."

Kaname pulled a knife from his shed as he circled around the terrified girl. He gently plays with the sharp object as he strode in the same slow and hushed pace. Kaname felt the familiar thrill running up his nerves, the supercilious feeling that came with the overwhelming control that a single human such as he could have over another through that instinctual fear of suffering.

"You say you fear death, but in reality, it is living that you fear." Kaname smiles at the remark as he forcibly pulls off the duct tape plastered onto the blonde woman's face, "Is it not, Sara?"

Once the restriction has been taken off her mouth, Sara had immediately screamed and pleaded for help or for a savior, or even just a passerby to come down and take notice of the psychotic man taking her captive, but there were none. There was no one. Her voice had only been amplified and returned by the concave ceiling. There had been no external sounds that could have instilled or even triggered the slightest amount of hope in her.

Kaname's smile widens at the exhausted tone of his captive's voice. The once melodious and high pitch of the noble woman's voice reduced to a scratchy texture and pitiful consistency. Kaname looked at his subject with soft yet cruel eyes, "Beautiful."

"You know, when they say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of an overlooking divinity. It makes me wonder in these times that I have control of your life, am I not by fundamentality,  _your_ God?"

Kaname laughs at the logic, only causing the other occupant of the room to be visibly more terrified.

Kaname holds the light-haired woman's arm with his left hand as he uses the other to grip the sharp object and direct it on the palm of his captive, "Well, maybe pain is by the hands of the beholder."

Kaname tightens his grip on her arm as he immediately plunges his knife onto her hand, eliciting a scream from Shirabuki. Kaname eventually pulls out the knife and watches in amusement as crimson painted porcelain skin like ink on water, "And perhaps, I am your god."

* * *

"Well, you know how this works, don't you?"

The dark-haired man smiles at the familiar tone used by his silver-haired companion, "And, if I have forgotten?"

Zero shook his head, "Well, I hope you eventually figure it out."

Kaname laughs at the response, "How cold of you."

"It's not a matter of—," Zero stopped his sentence involuntarily when he felt warmth from his back, and arms wrapped around his waist. Caught by surprise, he wasn't able to push the brunette away before he started breathing onto the nape of his neck and Kaname may or may not know it but his neck was one of his sensitive spots.

"Okay, okay. Get back down on that recliner. We're gonna start the session."

Kaname tightened his arms around the light-haired man, causing Zero to let out an involuntary sound that he wasn't sure what to call but that seemed to sate the dark-haired man enough to let him go take a seat in the recliner.

"You're cute."

"Grown men are not supposed to be cute."

"But they can."

"If you prolong this session, you're gonna see the effects of it on the bill."

"I can handle a few zeroes," Kaname retorted with a complacent expression, proud of the spontaneous pun he just made.

Zero paused for a few moments to understand the response and groaned when he realized the reason of the brunette's utter amusement, "Don't even."

"I know I'm pretty  _odd._ "

"Stop," Zero sighed, "I know you scheduled an appointment earlier than usual because of something now, let's start your session so we can finish before dinner."

"Can I take you out to dinner?"

Zero spoke in a warning tone, "Kaname."

"There's no ulterior motive behind this. I am all clean."

"If you say so," Zero spoke hesitantly.

"Is that a yes?"

"Kaname, I'm your doctor. I can't be your friend."

"You're my psychologist and I don't want to be mere friends."

Zero clicked his tongue, "I'm your psychologist; and it's better that we're less than  _mere friends._ "

Kaname smirked at the response, "And what do you think?"

Zero furrowed his brows at the abstract question. Kaname followed through, "You tell me it is better that we're less than mere friends but do you actually  _believe_ that we are better in that light?"

"It doesn't matter what I think."

Kaname smiled wider, "But it does to me."

Zero bit his lip but decided to speak out to end their charade, "I don't date sociopaths."

Kaname looks taken aback but Zero retains his stony façade and continues, "Now, let us begin?"


	2. Silver Linings

[November 19. Monday. 9:48 AM]

"What are you bringing me here for?"

Cross gave the silverette a thick red folder. The silverette took the suspicious file wearily and opened the folder to find numerous documents fastened neatly. His eyes catch a familiar name, "Kuran…Kaname?"

Cross appeared to be regretful as he nodded at the name, "He's been a patient for a very long time, but no progress has been made since we started handling his case…and that was two years ago."

Zero traced his finger down the outline of the man's basic medical information, "So he's a high-functioning sociopath, huh? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Please don't call him that," Cross trailed off but a contingent phrase was almost silently spoken.

Zero sighs, "So what's the plan here?"

"I'm gonna assign him to you."

"What?! Kaien, this is too high profile. I can't," Cross cuts Zero, "Please, Zero. You're new to the profession, I feel like there resides some idealism in you that could help him."

"Alright," Zero grounds out, "but if he doesn't show any improvement in a month, I'm dropping him."

"Three months."

Zero bit his lip and offered, "Two and that's final."

Cross sighed but smiled nonetheless, hugging the stiff silverette, "Thank you, Zero."

* * *

[December 16. Friday. 4:16 PM]

"Did you do the journal as I had told you to?"

Kaname smiles at the tone of Zero's voice and replies, "Of course, all for my favorite doctor."

Zero sighs and motions the brunette to hand him the small leather bound notebook. Kaname pulls it out from his coat pocket and hands it over. The silverette naturally reaches out to get the handheld object only to be deprived of doing so when Kaname raises the book above the shorter man's height.

Zero grunts and reaches out for the small notebook but Kaname only stretches his arm further up, "Kaname, you've been my patient for…"

Kaname doesn't let Zero finish as he cuts in, "three weeks and what's the relevance of that?"

"Please just give me the notebook."

Kaname pauses at the request, something gleaming at the back of his eyes. The brunette clenches hard at the notebook as if in the process of trying to calm himself or stop himself from doing anything impulsive.

Zero immediately takes notice of the change in the atmosphere, "Kaname, are you...?"

His pupils start diluting and Zero could visibly see the wine being overtaken by the gradually enlarging black circles in the brunette man's eyes. He knew of these  _episodes_ as Kaname's file has informed him. Currently, there had been no reports of the trigger to those sudden changes in mood and attitude but since no violence was ever involved in the cases—no additional information has been disclosed on the matter.

Kaname stays frozen at one corner so Zero uses this to his advantage by standing on the tip of his toes to reach out and try to get the notebook from Kaname's grasp.

Surprisingly, Kaname breaks out of the trance immediately and puts down his outstretched arm as he gently hands back the notebook. Zero nods at the permissive action and gets the notebook, "Thank you."

Kaname walks back to the recliner, still visibly spooked by an unknown trigger. Zero tries to disregard the reaction, but still keeps a watchful eye on the frigid man. Zero frowns at the implication of the other man's actions. He has spent three weeks with the dark-haired man yet it seems as if there was very little or no improvement at all.

For the past few weeks, Zero had been keeping a watchful eye at the wine-haired man. When Zero Kiryu observes Kaname Kuran, he sees a man at the prime of his youth: attractive, healthy, and adventurous. However, he also understands very well that the wine-haired man had layers upon layers of personality. An enigma, one may say.

Kaname Kuran, in the first week, was  _such a normal person_ as the voice at the back of Zero's mind had tried to supply but upon further contemplation, he has come to realize that Kaname was definitely averse from his original idea of him. Zero has come to realize, after a few days of being out of it and pondering about his patient, that Kaname is a very deceptive man. Zero could see it in the fleeting moments when the brunette breaks character from the chirpy and flirty bachelor he shows himself as. Zero wonders sometimes if he has been the first to observe the behavior.

Zero tries not to think about it and skims through the recent journal entries which were surprisingly long. He flicks through the pages when his eyes become drawn to the upper right side of one page which had a red stain. He frowns and looks at Kaname. Kaname appears to be less shaken, as the silverette could see the familiar misleading smirk re-appear in the dark-haired man's face.

Zero takes note of the date of the entry and asks, "What were you doing last night?"

Kaname doesn't answer immediately but Zero doesn't question the silence. Instead, the silverette opts to tap his fingers to fill out the quiet.

"It's in my journal."

Zero's frown almost deepens but he stops himself from the nuance, "Well, I'd like to hear it from you for now. By the way, I'll be keeping the journal to review it and I'll return it if it appears to be helping your case."

Zero inwardly laughs at himself for the lie, but Kaname doesn't point it out so the silverette takes this as a hint that the taller man did not catch the small lie in the undertones of his voice.

"Well, last night," Kaname smiles wide. He appears to have recovered from that short episode, Zero notes. In fact, the grin decorating his face appears to be strikingly predatory but Zero could sense that he was not the  _prey_ in such situation.

Zero notices that Kaname had trailed off after saying that one phrase, so he follows up, "Last night….?"

"…was a very wonderful experience," Kaname supplied.

Zero nods and shows the wine-haired man that he was interested by pivoting his body towards the direction of the brunette, "Do explain."

Zero catches  _it_ again, that familiar glint in his patient's eyes.

Kaname doesn't waste any time and keeps eye contact with the silver-haired man as he starts his narrative, his expression deceptively calm but his eyes telling another story.

* * *

[December 16. Friday. 6:05 PM]

"So, how's your favorite patient?"

Zero lets go of his utensils to glare at his companion, conveying the loss of his appetite after the inquiry. Kaito laughs at the befuddled expression of the silver-haired man and ruffles the latter man's hair, "Hey…don't be like that. I just don't want you to be quiet the entire time."

"Who's your favorite patient?" Yuuki asks; confused at the topic she knew nothing about.

"It's nothing," Zero grunted.

Kaito laughed and patted Zero's back, "Oh come on; you're almost done with your food anyway."

Zero's expression doesn't change. In fact, his face only twists into a more disgusted appearance, "No."

Yuuki pouts, "Zero, come on! I haven't gone to these dinners in a while. I need something to encourage me to actually go."

"You mean you were intentionally skipping dinner with us!?"

Yuuki smiles and tries to look away, "Yeah, I mean, before trailing out to a nervous laugh.

Kaito points out to change the topic, "By the way, Yuuki…why did you reserve for four people. Who else is coming?"

"How'd you know!?"

"There's an extra chair, dumbass."

"Oh right," Yuuki laughs nervously, "I may have invited Aidou to the dinner out of pity because he just broke up with his girlfriend and I accidentally told him that we could help him get through his spiel and all that. But, anyway, you were gonna tell us something right, Zero?"

Kaito and Zero groaned at the knowledge of their bubbly blonde co-worker joining the dinner.

"What time did you tell him to go here?"

"Maybe thirty minutes from now."

"I can't tell you a lot because of doctor-patient confidentiality, but…I'd tell you that he's been doing some strange things lately."

"You're horrible," Yuuki remarked at the blatant disclosure of information. To which Zero retorted, "I'm not the one who invited an annoying blonde idiot into a private three-person dinner."

Yuuki shoved food into her mouth and mouthed "Touché"

Zero starts laying down the basic and easily accessible information about his most recent patient given to him by Cross and Yuuki listens to the narrative carefully, nodding every now and then as she shoves food on her mouth. Kaito mimics the brunette's nods of approval, opting out of listening as he knew more than the silverette was telling.

Zero starts talking about their previous meeting which was a good hour before the three met up for a dinner, "I can't disclose a lot but earlier, he told me something unusual."

Yuuki made a face at that and mocked, "I can't disclose a lot, yeah," before raising a genuine question, "How unusual?"

"Wait," Kaito paused, "You called him a sociopath?"

Zero groaned, "Yeah it wasn't one of my best moments but he was getting annoying. Back to the point: he told me something unusual."

Kaito rolled his eyes, "Yeah, genius, you said that already."

"Shut up, Kaito. Anyway, he started talking about his recent bed partner? In particular, what happened last night and he narrated it with such explicit details and the weirdest adjectives. I can't explore the details but it was definitely weird."

Kaito hums in agreement, urging the silverette to continue, "I wanted to tell him to stop but he seemed so engrossed in talking and he rarely says anything substantial in our sessions so I just let him enjoy the time."

Yuuki pauses for a second, "So you're telling me there's more to this patient that what you're telling us?"

Zero shrugs, "Yeah, he may not be my favorite patient but I think he deserves some privacy."

Yuuki appears confused for a moment before voicing out her thoughts, "I think you should be careful, Zero."

"Really? What does our little princess think?" Kaito teases the girl.

Yuuki makes a face at the teasing statement, "Shut up, Kaito."

Kaito makes a comical gesture, "My two favorite people telling me to shut up in one night. I'm hurt."

Yuuki ignores the other man and continues, "He has antisocial personality disorder, right?" Zero nods, "I had a friend who was attacked by her patient with the same diagnosis and apparently, she started feeling something was really off when her patient would tell her long stories about his sexual fantasies. I'm just worried about you, Zero."

"Relax, Yuuki. Zero is perfectly capable of protecting himself. And, we're here, aren't we? No one can touch our precious little angel," Kaito said the last sentence with a mocking tone while wrapping his arms around the silverette in a tight embrace as he gives a small peck on Zero's cheek.

Zero struggled against the tight embrace, "Let go of me, dumbass!"

"Am I interrupting anything?" A familiar blonde man comes into view, appearing more timid and less vibrant than usual.

Yuuki appeared to be the only one happy to see him as Kaito and Zero stayed at one corner looking unimpressed, the latter still encased in the taller man's arms.

"So!" Yuuki tried to break the awkward trance, "Hey guys, and Aidou's here to join us tonight. What were you talking about, Zero?"

Zero grounds out, "nothing."

Kaito did not appear to like the response so he said, "We're talking about a patient sexually harassing this pure human."

Zero tells off the brunette man in a warning voice, "Kaito, don't even start…"

The description seems to have lighted a bulb in Aidou's head, "Is this a new patient of yours?"

Yuuki answers the inquiry for Zero who seemed to have no intention of answering the question, "Relatively yes."

Aidou's eyes widen a small fraction before he approaches Zero from one side and whispers a name. Zero appears shocked at the knowledge of the blonde haired man, "How did you know?"

"I used to go to school with him, and became interested in his case when he started meeting up with Cross," Aidou sighed, "There's definitely something different about him ever since his parents passed away."

Zero frowned, "How different?"

Aidou's expression turned sour as he explained, "Kaname Kuran used to be at the center of the elite society. Every other week, he threw parties and social events until  _that_ happened. And now, no one really knows how he spends his nights and who he talks to other than his servants and a bunch of professionals here and there."

"Do you think he has PTSD?" Zero bit his lip at the suggestion.

Aidou shook his head, "I don't believe it is. I talked to one of his old psychologists and they tell me that the incident had actually activated or killed off certain dormant areas of his brain, causing the diagnosis."

Zero contemplates on bringing up the full contents of the journal but opts out of saying it, thinking that it could just be unnecessary and intrusive information which could be used against his patient.

Aidou sees the troubled expression in Zero's face and remarks, "Look, Kiryu, just be careful around him. He has no reported cases of violence but I think there's more to him than his files."

"I'll take note of that."

* * *

[December 16. Friday. 9:54 PM]

Zero tossed away the leather-bound journal after reading Kaname's entries for the week which were. Thinking this way should be against his professional ethic but Kaname Kuran truly was a sociopathic bastard. The man definitely wrote those entries to get a tick out of the silverette.

Zero let out a huge sigh before turning on the television to get his mind out of his one problematic patient.

_Sara Hiou, daughter of influential actress Shizuka Hiou and director Rido Kuran, has been missing for five days now. The couple appears to be troubled and have opted out of press conferences and interviews in lieu of searching for their daughter._

Zero frowned at the news report and took note of the familiar name. He'll have to ask Kaname about that later…or not.

Without turning off the television, Zero pulled out his laptop and started searching for  _Rido Kuran_ and his affiliation with his patient. He may have been new to the profession, but he had his own methods to utilize other forms of dissecting the rare cases he is handed with.

He creates a new document:

_Rido Kuran_

_Affiliation with Patient: Uncle_

_Notes: Shows similar symptoms of sociopathy. Lascivious and self-centered. Frequently shown to be with the patient before the incident._

_Shizuka Hiou_

_Affiliation with Patient: Aunt_

_Notes: Has a kind hearted public image—very averse from husband's personality type. Quiet and reserved. Has not been acquainted with patient before the incident._

_Sara Hiou_

Zero frowns as he types the last name in the document.  _Why did their daughter take her mother's last name?_

_Affiliation with Patient: Cousin_

_Notes: Missing since 12/12/16. Does not appear to have any interaction with patient._

Closing the file, Zero still remains confused at the information he had stored off. He understands that the internet could never supply the best information on a person but there was definitely something amiss, a small detail he missed on his wild search.

Zero lets out the breath that he has been holding and decides to call it a day. He switches off the television and tucks away his laptop before collapsing into his bed. He'll have two other patients tomorrow and he doesn't have the heart to abandon those two others for a potential lost cause.

* * *

[December 17. Saturday. 12:03 AM]

Kaname sat comfortably on his king-sized bed, eyes completely focused on the television which was the only source of light in the room. The blue tint of the visual display reflected on the dark-haired man's face—making his sharp features even more prominent in the dark setting.

Kaname doesn't miss a single frame from the film playing as he tries to imitate the protagonist's actions. He pauses at a close-up frame of the main character smiling genuinely. Wine-eyes take in the expression with keen observation as he mimics the seemingly genuine expression with his own face. He turns to face himself in the mirror to compare the expression and finds himself appeased at the striking similarities.

Film was a wonderful creation of man, Kaname muses as he plays the movie yet again—the smile not being erased from his face. This time, the protagonist does something very comical and the studio audience laughs in response. Kaname mimics the action, taking note of the joke and what particularly was  _funny_ about it.

Kaname puts the film on pause when he hears his fellow occupant struggling at her position. Kaname imitates the initial expression of the protagonist yet again as he speaks in a saccharine tone, "What's wrong, Sara?"

This time, however, the expression did not imitate the protagonist's genuine feeling. Kaname's mouth was too stiff; his smile appeared to be crooked while his eyes remained wide and full reflective of his lack of empathy. Wine orbs widened further and his grin stretched when he caught Sara's horrified expression.

"Don't be like that,  _Shirabuki,_ " Kaname emphasized her name as he stood up from the soft bed, "I have a proposal. Are you listening?"

Kaname's expression turns cold at the lack of reaction so he walks closer to the light-haired woman and grabs her face with a tight grip as he whispers harshly, "I don't think you understood so do answer me: are you  _listening?_ "

Sara nods frantically, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. Kaname frowns at the action and lets go, "I hate to see you so down. I'm gonna untie you and let you find your way out of my mansion for three minutes."

Kaname finds a sadistic pleasure as some recognizable form of hope crosses Sara's eyes—knowing full well that he's just gonna crush that in a few more minutes, "But, of course, that's too good to be true, isn't it?"

"If you don't find a way out," Kaname walks to the nightstand and picks up the large hammer that was used to break the younger woman's legs the previous night, "I sincerely hope you understand."

"Do we have a deal?"

Sara contemplates for a moment. Kaname adds, "You have five seconds to accept my offer."

"5….4…3…2…"

Sara nods fervently.

Kaname levels himself to Sara's height and tells her as a final reminder, "If you dare scream, I'll break the last limbs you have so choose your actions wisely."

After Kaname unbinds the ropes, he stands up to appreciate the unadulterated deprivation in his cousin's eyes, "Three minutes, Shirabuki."

The three minute mark starts as Sara starts dragging her broken legs to the door, with only one good arm to drag her entire body. She could still feel the pain in her legs and left arm but adrenaline had been pushing her to go beyond her limits. She could feel hot tears flow down her face.

With a determined face, she drags herself gradually out the door with the thought of the gentle voice of her adoptive mother soothing her…and perhaps, her estranged father would finally come home now. It's all in the silver linings.

Kaname almost smiles at the determined expression of his cousin. He remarks, "Wow. It has already been one minute and you still haven't left my room? Pathetic"

Sara's expression turned fearful and Kaname couldn't help himself anymore as he spoke in a jubilant tone "I lied. Now, you lost fifteen seconds."


	3. Puzzle Pieces

Ichiru and Zero had been inseparable since birth. Wherever Zero went, Ichiru was sure to follow. Ichiru grew up timid, shy, and weak. Zero grew up to be protective, loyal, and anti-social. Even then, both always had each other. People were usually naturally drawn to Zero. This was something that the elder twin wasn't even aware of; despite being the object of the younger's insecurity at times.

As the two of them grew older, they didn't necessarily grow apart but it was apparent that Ichiru grew weaker as months turn to years. Eventually, Ichiru had to opt out of his studies because his body has become too weak.

Despite this, Zero had always been the model older brother. He abandoned all other activities that did not relate to his academics for his younger brother. He'd tuck his other half to sleep on most nights. Oftentimes, he spent his afternoons in his brother's room talking about his most miniscule observations and nuances, the type of conversations that never go anywhere.

It was a funny memory to recall, albeit inherently sad. No one ever noticed. Zero had his doubts and would sometimes ask directly but he never got any straight answers from the younger silverette. All he got were tight-lipped replies or ignorance. No one ever realized how much pain his brother had felt until it was too late.

Sometimes, Zero likes to hold on to hope. Hold on to the quiet beeps of the machine keeping his younger brother alive. Zero likes to believe that Ichiru will soon wake up to the world with everything in place.

However, life isn't as grand as literature would paint it. He's been reminded more than once by professionals in his own field and medical practitioners that Ichiru may never wake up. In fact, what's most bothersome is when some of them tell him that Ichiru's mortality would be up to Ichiru himself. Of course, his brother wanted to cut the strings and close the last chapter of his book. Ichiru had already let go, but here Zero was: still trying to hold on to the last vestiges of hope.

Depression is really like that, as they would tell him back then. It sneaks on you, attacks you when you're most vulnerable as it tries to convince you that the world does not want you in it.

Perhaps, what truly left a bad taste at the tip of the silverette's tongue was the fact that he took this profession; as if it could be some form of retribution for all his shortcomings with Ichiru. Ironically, he had fewer patients suffering from depression as he expected. It's as if to smother him with the fact that the stigma with depressed people trying to deal with themselves hasn't passed

* * *

Kaname frowns at the lifeless body of his cousin. Sara Shirabuki's flaxen locks, almost golden under the sunlight, was gradually being overtaken by a familiar crimson—that wonderful shade of red that Kaname has definitely been very well acquainted with.

Unsurprisingly, the woman did start begging for her life once she realized that the door was locked. Thus, cue the screaming. Kaname was having none of his cousin's complaints so he did what he had to do or what he had been anticipating to do ever since he drugged his light-haired companion back to his mansion. He used that little black tool at his back-pocket, conveniently loaded to the brim, and managed to get bull's eye at first try.

Practice does make perfect.

Upon noticing the crimson red starting to spread further from the light-haired woman's form, Kaname's frown deepened. He sat down beside the corpse of his cousin, on the area that wasn't soaked up in the woman's blood and started talking animatedly, "Oh Sara, Sara, Sara. Bastard child Sara, your parents have reunited but poor little you won't be part of the perfect family portrait anymore."

Kaname couldn't help the small but definitely noticeable twitch of his lips. He took a few moments to stare and whispered at her ear, "I want to tell you a secret."

They said hearing was the last sense that you will part with upon death.

* * *

"So what would you like to tell me, Kaname?"

"I don't understand why I do what I do."

Zero pauses and tries to swallow the huge lump forming in his throat inconspicuously, "and what do you do?"

Kaname stretches his fingers in a sweeping motion before clenching and looking the silverette in the eye, "would you like to know, Zero?"

The long drawn syllables of Zero's name echoed, its reverberations bouncing off the walls of the room. Zero almost hesitated before mentally scolding himself. Kaname was a patient, and it was his choice to put himself at this position so he would have to deal with the consequences of his actions the way a professional was trained to.

"If you don't mind."

"I don't understand why I," Kaname's speech was cut by Zero's phone ringing. The sound caught both men by surprise and Zero briskly picked up the phone to look at the caller ID and apologized, "I'm sorry. This won't take long."

Kaname's expression doesn't soften at the apology but he doesn't look away. His eyes still focused entirely on Zero. The dark-haired man nods in understanding nonetheless, his clenched fists loosening slowly as the silverette walks off to a smaller room inside his office, but keeps the door half open.

"I'm with a patient. This better be urgent or I'm kicking your ass."

" _This is serious, Zero. I need to tell you something before it's too late."_

"Tell me what? Is this a prank, Kaito? Because if it is, I'll be really pissed."

" _What? No! This is about the Kuran."_

Zero's heart skipped a beat at the name. He averted his eyes to peek at the dark-haired man sitting comfortably in his office, only to find the other still unceasingly staring at him. Their eyes meet and an almost imperceptible smile makes its way to Kaname's face.

"What about him? Kaito, if you're gonna tell me one of those HR rumors again—you can really just shove it."

" _It isn't. Okay, here's the deal. Just stay for two minutes and I'm done. You could go back to your patient…wait, who are you…is it him?"_

"Yeah, dumbass."

" _Okay, just don't speak for a minute. It isn't really about Kuran but,"_

"Oh god, you're already wasting my time."

_"It's about his previous doctor..."_

"Why is this even relevant?"

" _She was murdered a month prior."_

Zero gulped at the insinuation. He had also been given Kaname's file less than a month prior, "What are you insinuating?"

Zero took another peak at Kaname and found that the brunette had already preoccupied himself with something else,  _"Alright, now you're listening. This doctor used to be very sickly so she was pretty close to one of the nurses here. Weeks before her murder, she would talk to this nurse about how oddly eerie one of her patients were."_

"And you're telling me this patient is,"

" _Yes, it's the Kuran."_

"How could you be so sure?"

Zero's ears picked up small tapping sounds, but assumed it was just his head tuning his heart rate,  _"This nurse tried to trace the records after her death and found that the timeline of the doctor's stories pare in with the timeline of Kuran's assignment to her."_

"Are you telling me that,"

Zero's voice was cut by a loud slamming of the wall. Zero looks up from his position to find that it was Kaname's hand colliding into the wooden panel beside the door that caused the loud sound. Zero quickly ended the call but couldn't find the words to say nor the heart to even utter a word. Kaname frowned, "Are you done now,  _doctor?_ "

Zero furrowed his brows. The dark-haired man had never been this aggressive to him. The latter had always used a saccharine smile and tone.

Kaname's frown deepened, "I see that you don't understand me yet, Zero. You may be a doctor but you're not a mind reader. But then again," Kaname pauses to contemplate on the thought, "If you could read my thoughts, I doubt that you'll even want to take charge of me so I think it's all the best for us."

"I am an impatient man, Zero. It would be best not to anger me." Zero's phone rings again. Kaname eyes the small device, "and not to answer that phone call."

* * *

After a tiring day, Zero comes home to an empty apartment and immediately heads for the recliner, grabbing his laptop along the short pace. His session with his relatively new patient had been disastrous. Thankfully, the schedule next to him was cancelled last minute, giving him some time to breathe. It wasn't all in vain as he was able to get an important name that could help him in the profiling of one enigmatic patient.

Zero tapped on the keyboard area of his laptop as he waited for it to boot. After the wait, he started the awaited search on his new person of interest, starting from the most generic search engines. There wasn't anything noteworthy from it other than links to private profiles inaccessible by third parties. After narrowing his search by modifying keywords, Zero ends up reading the headline of an interesting article revealing a connection to certain persons of interest.

_Maria Kurenai_

_Affiliation to patient: former psychologist_

_Notes: A victim of an unresolved homicide/murder. Additionally, cause of death is undisclosed. She appears to have a connection with the Kuran-Hiou family. Has a long-standing academic background and undertakes as a professor in Cross University._

Zero bit his lip, could Kaname have been the perpetrator behind Kurenai's…no, the silverette shook his head; he shouldn't be mixing conspiracy theories with his professional life. While Kaname was fully capable of getting away and leaving a trail of murders, he doesn't think that the wine-haired man would even seek help if it meant showing motive for doing so.

Putting allegations at the back of his head, Zero continued his search for answers. He would have to ask his friend for more details as Kurenai didn't appear to be a public figure. She had been a very private person—setting most of her social profiles inaccessible by strangers. Zero was about to retire for the night and entirely give up when he found a public transcript of a case involving a nameless individual accused of murder but pardoned on grounds of insanity thus leading to a surprising assignment under Maria Kurenai. Zero branches out from this and finds two similar cases around the same year whereby criminals were assigned to her afterwards.

Zero adds to his notes:

_Subject has taken charge of at least three legally insane criminals. All of whom appear to have no traceable online records currently._

Kaname doesn't have a criminal record but it wasn't impossible for someone of Kaname's stature to force public records into washing his slate clean to fit his status and upbringing. And, judging from the behavior the dark-hair man exhibited today—he knew and fully understood that the rich heir had some very harmful tendencies.


	4. Mind Games

The weekend easily passes, with Zero having little to no obligations tied to work. He only had two schedules for both days respectively and these were very small and low-profile patients. He comes home to his apartment with a drunken Kaito in tow, and tosses his friend towards the couch when he notices a basket in his kitchen counter.

Curious over the foreign item in his living area, Zero walks towards the basket and finds that it was actually a small basket of blue flowers upon closer inspection. A note was written on a silver card tied to the knot on the handle of the basket.

_I'm sorry for my previous outburst. I asked the landlord to give these to you. – K.K._

Zero frowned. He was getting more involved than expected.

* * *

Zero closes his eyes, trying to calm his mind before continuing the session, "So what do you do in your free time?"

"I kill people."

Zero restricts himself from swallowing, "Kaname, be serious about this."

"Are you serious about me, Zero?"

Zero doesn't react to the clear taunting, "Yes. You're my patient and I do take you seriously."

Kaname smiles widely and remarks, "Wonderful, but I prefer if you don't."

"How so?"

"Do you wanna play a game, Zero?"

Zero starts in a warning tone "Kaname…"

Kaname's smile doesn't falter as he appears to be more amused at the situation, "Oh, forgive me,  _Doctor Kiryuu._ Would you like to play a game?"

"Fine, how do we play your game?"

"This is fun. You guess what's on my mind and like every game you know that if you lose, there should be a consequence."

"And, what's gonna be my consequence?"

Kaname's expression dulls down to a malicious frown, "I lock you up in my basement."

In cases like this, it was important to appear as an ally to the patient—a shrink. You had to enforce the corrective action in a manipulative manner only a restrictive human relationship can, "And what would you want to do with me?"

Of course, the technicality is to be a guiding hand: the voice of reason— but being an authoritative figure isn't a key role to unlocking the deeper caverns of the human psyche. It should already be common knowledge that figures of authority never work unless they are embedded to a seamless system and the human mind is an enigma with very few certainties surrounding it. Zero taunts further, "Would you tie me up and gag me? Tell me, Kaname. I'm all ears."

The expression in the dark-haired man's face morphs into a subtle smile. The undertone of malice still stuck on his gaze, "You're different, aren't you?"

Zero inwardly pats himself in the back, "No one is ever the same, Kaname. Tell me more."

Zero puts away the blank file to be filled for the session, tucking it on the drawer under his table. Hidden from Kaname's view was the silverette's phone that was set on record the moment the latter tucked in the document to hide the device, "This will all be…unrecorded."

Lying through his teeth always left a bad taste in his mouth, but the remaining few weeks should prove to be useful on knowing whether more dangerous tactics can yield better results.

Kaname practically beams with joy, "So, can you guess what's on my mind?"

"Don't games go both ways?"

"Of course they do. So, what would be my consequence then?"

"I drop you as my patient."

That seemed to drop the mood, "I'm sorry?"

A peer: someone who understands you to an emotional level—who will give criticism and advice but to a very saturated point of acknowledgement of your faults. This was the true game underneath it all because they were both playing characters derived from their true nature to gain something from the other in the most accepted sense of behavior. However, in this game, only one player is truly aware of the mechanics, "You will lock me in your basement, correct? Tie me up, unclothe me, perhaps? You'll put me at your mercy. I say it's only logical to remove the root of my potential suffering to balance the deal."

"It's a shame that you've never shown me how you truly are in the weeks we have spent. We could have gotten along better."

Zero replies in a poorly hidden mocking tone, "but I'm your psychologist, Kaname."

Kaname cups Zero's face, to which the silverette almost flinches at, "You are  _so_  lovely."

Zero puts his hand over Kaname's in a gentle but berating manner. The dark-haired man closes his other hand on Zero's and fully encapsulates the smaller man's hands. Kaname pulls the smaller man's hand to him as he places down one hand to leave a kiss at the back of his palm.

"Shall we play?"

"The game is wonderful, but I cannot bear the chance of losing you and our precious time."

"Understandable, so shall we continue?"

* * *

"You look tired."

Zero rolled his eyes at the remark and retorted, "Oh wow, tell me something I don't know."

Aidou frowns at the response, "What's wrong?"

The silverette's attention is brought up to the blonde man's face, "There's nothing wrong. What makes you think there's anything wrong about me?"

Aidou sighs and crosses his arms at the clear prevarication, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Is this about the Kuran?"

Zero opened his mouth to reply, but was unable to speak any words to justify himself further. The silverette sighed and explained, "I…did something I'm not supposed to do."

Aidou raises a brow at the implication, "You….Did you  _sleep_ with him?"

Zero shook his head at the question and threw an expression of disbelief at the blonde man, "No! No, I really can't see him in that light. It's just that I'm going against my ethics as a professional to get the information I need and it leaves a sour taste at the tip of my tongue."

"But, is it working?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Is it working? Do you think it's worth it?"

Zero lowered his gaze and replied, "Well, it  _is_ working. On the subject on whether I think it's worth it, is still contestable."

"Be careful, Kiryuu. Kuran is a powerful man with very questionable morals."

Zero grimaced, "Truly, tell me something I don't know."

"Touché,"

* * *

Zero goes back to an unruffled home after a relatively tiring day and as usual, lounges on the couch to relax before delving into more work-related tasks. Turning on the TV, he switches from channel to channel until something catches his eye: two familiar individuals to be exact. One Kuran Rido and Shizuka Hiou were on the television yet again, to announce reuniting after a divorce.

Zero quickly pulls out his laptop from under the coffee table and watches the news fervently. He picks up a few facts from the report.

_Sara Hiou is still missing._

_Shizuka Hiou and Rido Kuran were divorced for two years._

_The union is partly for the efforts of relocating their missing daughter._

_Sara Hiou is a bastard child, hence the divorce._

Zero groaned, "These celebrities are  _so_ fucked up."

While typing up the details on a document, the silverette's phone started ringing. Without looking at the caller ID, he immediately answered the call—assuming it was Kaito, Yuuki, or the rare but possible case of Aidou, "Hey, what's up?"

It was a different voice that returned the pleasantries "Is the patient-doctor clause truly over our heads now, dear Zero."

Zero jerked at the realization of who exactly was on the other line, "Kuran, didn't I tell you that our conversations should be limited to sessions, unless it's an emergency."

"But this is an emergency,  _Zero._ "

"Do tell me why," Zero closed his laptop and put it aside.

"You've been running on my mind and I can't seem to get you off of it. I need some of your mental specialty to ease the pain."

Zero spoke the brunette's name in a warning tone, to which the latter replied, "Kaname."

Zero mentally cursed at forgetting to address the dark-haired man as so. Kaname continued, "You seem to have forgotten so. But, it's alright. We all forget. We're all too caught up in the masks that we wear."

Zero gulped, "Masks?"

"Yes. I believe you are wearing one, aren't you? In the daytime, you try to appear as a prim and proper straight laced doctor but in all truth—you're just as rotten as your patients, are you not?"

Zero inwardly sighed in relief. Kaname hasn't fully uncovered his plans or his  _mask_ , "I'll let you think what you want to think."

"But wouldn't that insinuate that my thoughts are in line with your truth?"

"Like I said, you have the liberty to think what you want to think and I have the right to neither confirm nor deny."

"How about letting me in?"

Three knocks on the door.

"Kaname, this isn't appropriate."

"Appropriate is a subjective word."

Zero took his time walking towards the door. The other line was silent all throughout. He carefully puts up the peephole cover and takes a peek to see Kaname on the other side of the door.

Kaname's side picks up the volume, "You are right across the door, are you not?"


	5. Loose Strings

**Chapter 5**

Zero takes a deep intake of breath and ends the phone call immediately.

Another three knocks.

Zero's phone rings again. Unable to think straight, the silverette throws the phone across the room and takes another peek outside his door. There Kaname was, almost staring directly at him through the glass eye, phone in hand and an unnerving smile embellished on his face.

The ringing of the phone never ceased as the modulated tones continued to echo across the living space. Feeling overwhelmed, Zero started breathing heavily and did the first thing he thought of. He immediately made his way towards the heaviest fixture in the room, which was thankfully at a relatively near area, and started pulling the heavy cabinet towards the door to block it.

Zero momentarily stopped the heavy lifting to look outside, to find the front of the door empty with no trace of the dark-haired man anywhere. No faint silhouette of the taller man leaving or even a whiff of the warmth that only the presence of a human body can leave.

Zero locked the chain and opened the door to check for any traces of his patient wandering around the vicinity, but didn't find the slightest hint of Kaname's presence in the open area of the hallways.

* * *

The following day, Zero wakes up at an unusually early hour and makes it a point to drop by Kaien's office before attending to the first patient of the day.

Before Zero could open the door to his superior's office, another person had beaten him to it from the other side of the door. He looks up to find a familiar face staring back at him with an amused expression. Zero's expression reflected a deep confusion at the presence his patient in his superior's office, "What are  _you_ doing here?"

Kaname smiled wider, "I'm dropping in a good word for you," he explained, scanning the silverette's form from top to bottom before returning the question, "What are  _you_  doing here?"

Zero pressed his lips together and decided not to reply. Kaname noticed the nuance and held Zero's arm with a firm grip as he pulled the silverette closer to him, "our games are over, dearest,"

"What do you…"

Kaname's face hardened, "I'll see you again Thursday, Doctor Kiryuu."

Zero shook his head, and walked away from the wine-haired man who seemed so keen to ruin his day. He closed the door between them, without a word and started approaching his superior who seemed to be busy with paperwork.

The older of the two seemed to have picked up on the other's presence, "What is it, Zero?"

"I would like to be dropped off the responsibility of Kaname Kuran."

Kaien stopped his ministrations at the statement, and dropped his pen on the table. Taking off his glasses, the older man set them aside to look directly into the silverette, "What's the problem?"

"I just don't think I'm capable enough to take his case."

Kaien's mood deflated, as he tried to bargain with Zero, "What's the problem, Zero? Is it the time? I can take off some patients from your load. Is it the hours? We can always move the schedule to fit yours."

"I have two weeks left with him, don't I? I finish those two weeks and the deal is just over."

"We agreed on two weeks if there was no progress, but we're doing good and seeing progress. Kaname has never visited me before to give in a good word, and I can see that he's faring better than he did before."

"This rapid development isn't good for the long term. How can we even verify that it's real?"

Kaien looked taken aback, "What do you mean  _verify_?" but Kaien decided not to press on the matter further as he diverted the topic, "Anyway, I just want you to give me one good reason to take him off your ledger. I can't just do this when I know you're good for him."

* * *

"I'm confused. Why don't you just tell Cross what happened? I'm sure he'd understand."

Zero shook his head, "I can't tell him this until I see the bigger picture."

"And when is that? When your lifeless body is laying a ditch? Kaname is volatile; you're not as safe as you think you are." Aidou sighed, "Have you  _at least_ told anyone else?"

Zero scowled at the concerned expression sent his way, "No, and I'm fully capable of protecting myself against my patients."

Aidou leaned at the wall and crossed his arms, his gaze never leaving the silverette, "Kaname is a special case. I know I can't do much to change your mind so," Aidou turns away and pulls up his phone from his back pocket before handing it to Zero.

Zero takes the phone absentmindedly, and sends the light haired man an inquisitive look. Aidou immediately understands the confusion, "It's a tracker, just input the key code you receive. I promise not to activate it unless you go missing or whatever."

"I," Zero hesitated, "I'm...thank you."

"Don't mention it," Aidou sent Zero a small reassuring smile.

* * *

The moment he gets home is the moment Zero decides that he is done trying to fix Kaname. There was something terribly broken inside the wine-haired man's system, but that didn't necessarily mean that he had to be the one to fix it.

Before Zero locks the door, he takes one last cautionary peek outside before storming through his belongings and pulling out documents from different corners and crevices of the room. He stacks all the paper files at his side and pulls up his laptop.

Zero pulls out his phone and calls Aidou while in the process of setting up his computer. In the process, Zero catches the faint clatter of something falling, more likely to be metal than any other object. The silverette ignores it, however, in favor of finishing the task at hand- something most likely fell from all the hurried strides he made earlier.

Aidou picks up, "Zero?"

"I'm done. I'm not gonna do this anymore," Zero declared.

"What do you mean?"

Zero took a deep breath and continued, "I don't care what Kaien says anymore. I'm gonna drop Kuran. This just doesn't feel right anymore."

"That's great! I'm glad. I can't keep telling you the same cautionary tales."

"Hey," Zero starts.

An inquisitive hum makes its way through Aidou's side of the call, and Zero continued, "Thank you. I didn't know who else I could talk to about this so I'm just really grateful."

Aidou laughs, "Don't mention it."

Zero presses his lips at the response, unsure of what to say, "Uh…bye, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Aidou teased.

Zero couldn't help a small smile slip through his face, "Yeah. Dinner's on me. Now, bye."

"If you say so,"

Zero ends the call and puts the small device away as he resumes his previous activities. He starts mass deleting all the incriminating articles and files he had on Kaname, one folder at a time after scanning some notable details on the saved data before deleting them entirely, and moving to the next one.

Eventually, Zero finishes the entire collection in his storage so he closes his laptop and sets it aside as he pulls up the stack of papers beside him and starts skimming through the multitude of documents. This time around, he notices an eye-catching red sticky note in the middle of the pile of paper. He didn't remember inserting a note like that, but there's a possibility that the memory was just buried at the back of his mind from all the work he has been doing lately. Zero almost ignores the eye-catching memo completely until he manages to catch two familiar letters.

 _Great Work. K. K._.

Zero feels a chill run up his spine. This couldn't be happening. How long had that note been in his documents?

Zero felt a cold shiver when another realization dawned upon him. Kaname had been inside his home. He hid those documents, and he hid it well. His passing landlord couldn't have stumbled upon it if they just delivered flowers. Had Kaname been aware of his suspicions the entire time?

Zero immediately grabbed his phone, ringing up Aidou as he eyed his surroundings to make sure that there were no other people present in his room. Unable to find a better weapon for self-defense, Zero picked up the small pair of craft scissors and held it at an offensive position as he slowly edged towards the door.

Zero kept the phone on his ear and the scissors on his left hand as he struggled to keep his grip firm on the sharp metal tool. Momentarily keeping his eyes off the vicinity of the room, Zero put up the peephole cover to check outside and mentally sighed in relief as he saw that no one was there.

The ringing ended and Aidou's voice echoed through the line, "Zero?"

"This is urgent. Can you meet me at the nearest train station? I'm," Zero froze.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a regretfully familiar voice spoke as the figure of the taller man resurfaced.

Masterfully disarming the silverette, Kaname grabbed the scissors from Zero's grasp and stabbed it at the nearest table, causing a clatter of appliances. Kaname then grabbed the silverette's phone and threw it hard enough to hear the rattle of the broken pieces.

Zero stood frozen, just a few steps away from the door, so close to an escape but too deep in shock to actually make any move.

"Zero, you almost had me fooled. I'm impressed," Kaname spoke.

Zero hissed, the tremor in his voice failing to convey the right tone, "Get the hell away from me!"

"Don't you want to hear it?" Kaname smiled and continued, "Don't you want to hear it  _all_? What I've done, who I've killed...why I do it?"

"What do you want?"

"Is your diagnosis correct this time around, Doctor Kiryuu?"

Zero glared at the jubilant man in front of him, who seemed unfazed at the angry stare directed at him. Kaname had to suppress a laugh, "Did you wonder how  _it's so convenient_ that someone  _pops out of nowhere_  and gives you all the relevant information you need to incriminate me and support your suspicions?"

Zero paused to consider the statement before having connected the dots, "Stop messing with my head,"

"That's where you messed up, Zero. You broke character...at the most crucial point in time."

"You're lying."

"You were almost playing the game right just a few days ago, but they do say  _playing dead_  is still an strategy."

"This isn't a game, Kuran."

"You trust the wrong people too easily, Zero. You were right for not trusting me," Kaname drawled as he stepped closer to the silverette, "but you were wrong about someone else."

Zero shook and finally gathered enough strength to push himself out of the situation. Without warning, he grabs the door and unlocks it. Kaname surprisingly doesn't make any move to stop him. Zero immediately runs out the door, only to be stopped by a firm grip on his arms.

Zero's gaze travels upwards from the firm hold of the other man's arms leading up to those familiar blue eyes that appeared more conflicted than he expected, "Aidou, you don't have to do this."

Aidou frowned and looked the silverette square in the eye, words of sympathy trapped at the tip of his tongue. Kaname soon followed the silverette out the room, calmly making slow strides, "Splendid timing. I almost thought you wouldn't come."

* * *

Zero wakes up on a pristine white love seat, in an intricately decorated living room of a lavish mansion. He checks his arms and legs to see if he's chained to any corner of the room or even a fixture, but finds that there was nothing chaining him down. No metal cuffs or ropes attached to his body. He was wearing different clothes, most likely Kaname's from what he would determine to be at least one size bigger than he's used to.

Zero knew better than to be comfortable, so he immediately searches the room for something to protect him when his captor shows up. Unfortunately, that event happens too soon.

"Rise and shine, beautiful"

Zero fights back an angry response to the seemingly harmless statement, "Where are we?"

Kaname walks closer to the sedated silverette, "In my lovely abode, of course. Only the best for the best," Kaname stopped walking a few steps short in front of Zero to take in the helpless form of the other man, "you've never looked any better."

"What's this, no restraints?" Zero challenged.

Amused, Kaname doesn't stop the smiled creeping under his features. He continues his pace and walks even closer to Zero, "None that eyes can see."

Kaname takes a seat beside the defenseless silverette who had been visibly struggling with the strain in his muscles caused by the drug the wine-haired man injected into him earlier. Kaname recounted, "I heard that you have a brother."

This immediately caught Zero's attention as he darted an angry expression at Kaname. Kaname continued, "You're not the only one who's done his research, Zero."

Kaname stands up from his position, "Well, the only way out is through. I hope you've prepared yourself for our activities tonight,"

Zero catches the light reflected from the needle leading to a small syringe filled with a dense yellow fluid. Kaname continues his statement as he swiftly injects the fluids into Zero's system, "despite the short notice."


	6. Coalition

**Chapter 6**

What people don't understand is that defilement is less about sexual gratification, and more about subjugation. The ultimate form of humiliation is a play on power. It shares the same nature of a knife cutting into flesh on the charge of murder, or a bullet passing through a limb on the count of self –defense. The fundamental difference is that this act was more personal, more sensual, and at a point: almost as gratifying as it could've been with the clause of consent.

 _But consent is a challenging topic,_  Kaname thought,  _especially when there is no room to voice it out_.

Zero lay underneath Kaname, his mouth gagged and limbs tied. The silverette's alabaster skin created a fine contrast between the dark red sheets of Kaname's bed. The image painted in front of him simply made the wine-haired man smile. The silverette was truly the muse that Kaname has been looking for all his life.

Zero tightened, as Kaname forced himself further inside. The silverette shook his head, tears threatening to fall and lay over dried ones. The feeling of Zero's entrance almost matched the overwhelming humiliation and fear that was clearly mirrored in wide-eyed glassy lavender pools.

Kaname pulled himself out of Zero's entrance, kissing the silverette in the forehead. He almost fooled Zero into relaxation when the latter had felt the same large member position itself onto his entrance. In an instant, Kaname pushed himself into Zero without warning. Zero's screams were muffled by the gag as hot tears fell down his face. Kaname leans in close to whisper to his ear, "You've never looked more beautiful."

* * *

"Have you seen Zero?"

Kaito pauses his work to turn to Yuuki, "Cross is looking for him. Seems like some urgent business."

Kaito shook head. He switched his attention completely towards the dark-haired girl, and put down the documents he was working on to replace it with his phone, "Wait. I'll try calling him."

Yuuki frowned, "It goes straight to voicemail. When was the last time you saw him?"

"Wakaba's birthday party. When did  _you_ last see him?"

"Same day," Yuuki crossed her arms, visibly worried over their silver-haired friend, "Haven't chatted him this week, too. Do you think it's anything serious?"

Kaitou contemplated before answering, "I don't know, but it's definitely unlike him to do this."

"Well, who else actually talks to Zero on a regular basis other than," Yuuki's face immediately lit up as her eyes met Kaitou who was wearing a similar expression, "Aidou!"

* * *

Kaname stared at the unconscious silverette, lying in front of him. The latter was clearly exhausted, having passed out from the previous night to the early morning's strenuous activities. He used the back of his hand to caress the alabaster skin, tracing the rough streaks of dried tears.

Kaname frowned. This would have been an intimate moment should he have not been incapable of emotions. He didn't feel euphoria, but he understood the feeling behind it. It was a qualitative nature of the human mind that he never got to experience, but laying in bed beside the silver-haired man may be the closest thing he could get to a taste of that extent of happiness.

He didn't feel love; but he knew pleasure. He couldn't experience that attraction-driven emotion; but he had been all too familiar with an unconventional mix of thrill, fascination. His life is mechanical, built on blocks over blocks of logical decisions.

Unwittingly, the silverette in front of him had shifted the gears and found loopholes against his logical framework, chinks in his armor that hadn't been present ever since he lost his parents to that tragedy. He was incapable of love, but he understood respect and concern; and made it a point to involve that into his calculative nature.

Kaname sat up from his position, giving Zero a small glance before completely standing up and tucking in the light-haired man under the soft sheets of his bed.

There's a thin line between love and hate, and for most of his life; he's been on that tricky border in between the two extremes— never truly having a comprehensive grasp of either.

Kaname pulled a neatly cut rope from one of the wooden drawers beside the bed and proceeded to tie Zero's arms together behind the silverette's back.

After doing so, the wine-haired man leaves the room and shuts the door but I keeps the lock open. He walks towards the room across the hall, his office. Nowadays, he was barely doing anything. He wasn't the CEO of the family corporation but he knew how to play the cards behind the scenes, especially when he's been dealt with the best ones.

He waltzes into the room, picking up his phone to check relevant e-mails. Eventually, he had to drop his phone because of the lack of urgency of most messages.

It wasn't uncommon, nowadays, for a high-functioning sociopath like him to live through life in the lap of luxury. In fact, his type has it so much easy. There was very little to worry about because you couldn't even feel it in the first place.

His first kill was his family psychologist's daughter. She was a youthful and bright person, easily swayed and influenced by a beautiful face. That was an awakening to a hunger he never knew existed, until it grew bigger and bigger to a point that it became a form sustenance for living.

It was a game, a means of retribution for all the many ways his life could've been different if he only knew how to feel.

He carries his phone and puts it on his back pocket as he walks back to his room. Surely, the silverette would still be asleep but he wouldn't want to miss being the first thing Zero sees when he wakes up.

* * *

"And why do you call me now,"

"It just doesn't feel right anymore," Aidou exclaimed, clearly high-strung from the aftermath of something. His fists were clenched to a deathly purple shade, but the other man didn't comment on it.

The dark-haired man across the table stared straight into electric blue orbs, "It was never right from the very start."

"I don't wanna be part of this anymore."

"Idolatry is deceitful, like they say and you may be beyond salvation," the brunette's lips drew to an uncanny smile as he spoke the next words, "but do tell me more,"

Aidou looks down and tries to channel his memories into words. The other man makes an off handed comment, "Isn't it ironic that I'm supposed to be the unemotional one when Kaname's the one incapable of any emotions at all."

Aidou bit his lips at the sour remark, "Shiki…I,"

"Go on, tell your story."

* * *

Zero wakes up and the light seeping from the curtains have visibly diminished. It was likely already an early evening. With this, he also noticed being encased by the warm red sheets when he lying on top of it just moments ago. He remained naked underneath it all while the blindfold and gag were nowhere to be seen. However, his hands had been tied up, unlike the previous night.

"I see you're awake."

Zero glares at the other man. Kaname's face was void of expression, but Zero could almost swear that could see the gears of the wine-haired man's mind turning. Zero opens his mouth to voice out a violent reply but only a pitiful sound manages to make it through Kaname's ears.

"You lost your voice," Kaname comments on the obvious. His expression turned amused at the silverette's difficulty.

Zero refused meet that familiar hue of deep burgundy clouded in malice and delight, as he kept his lips tight and his gaze downwards.

"That's a shame. I was ready to answer all your questions now, but not all opportunities can be appreciated."

"No," Zero croaked, his voice rough but perceptible.

"There we have it," Kaname taunted as he walked all the way to one corner of the room to grab a wooden chair and place it directly in front of Zero. The brunette sat on the chair, legs crossed and arms folded, "shall we begin?"

"Why," Zero began, trying to muster the strength in his voice to continue the sentence, but Kaname cuts him before Zero could compose himself, "you'll have to be more specific."

"Why me?" Zero settles.

Kaname smiled deviously, "Why  _not_  you?"

"Answer the question,"

Kaname ignores the pitiful attempt at a threat and continues, "My turn. Do you think I'm a monster, Zero?"

"Is everything a g...ame t-to you?"

"Not everything, but I do enjoy matters more when they are," Kaname responds and reiterates, "Am I a monster, Zero?"

"Are you?" Zero retorts, managing to find his voice.

"I see, you're learning. I'm impressed. I'll give you that," the wine-haired man stands up to approach the clearly weakened silverette, "but do not cross me any further than this."

* * *

"Are you part of the patient's immediate family?"

Yuuki shared a look with Kaito before answering, "No, but his only immediate family is unreachable right now. I'm an emergency contact, though, and have known him before...the incident."

The doctor sighed and declared resignedly, "Well, at times like this: it's more important for the patient see a familiar face. I just need you to reassure him now. His mental health is already half the battle."

Leading the way, the doctor ushered the two individuals to walk with him. Upon locating the patient's room, he sent the two a pleasant expression as he opened the door.

The doctor made his presence known to the silverette and spoke some formalities before leaving Yuuki and Kaito alone with Ichiru, and closing the door to give the three privacy. What precedes that encounter is mere silence that spanned almost an entire minute, which felt like hours.

Ichiru breaks the silence, "Where's nii-san?"

Yuuki clenched her fist at the question, both frustrated yet unsure of what to tell the younger Kiryuu. Kaito noticed the small nuance and decided to answer himself, "He's still at work. Don't worry. He has always been visiting you at least once a week. There's just this very troublesome patient that he's handling right now."

A lie of omission.

Ichiru's expression softened at the statement, "How long?"

Yuuki shared another look with Kaito, "years, maybe four?"

Ichiru smiled, "So, Zero's finally a doctor now, huh?"

Yuuki nodded eagerly, deciding to pretend that everything was alright for the sake of the silverette in front of him, "Of course he is! And, he's really good at it. He even got a scholarship offer from university if he wanted to pursue a doctorate."

"Nii-san is amazing."

Yuuki smiled at the remark and couldn't help herself as she got teary-eyed and hugged the frail silverette in front of him, "We really missed you, Ichiru! I'm so happy you're here again."

Ichiru almost jumped at the sudden action, but eventually let his guard down when the brunette started ugly crying at his clothing.

Kaito stepped forward and sent the silverette a small look of tenderness as he spoke, "We really did miss you, Ichiru. I'm glad that you're back."


	7. The Twists and Turns of Fate

**Chapter 7**

Shiki was almost Kaname's adoptive brother, without all the papers and formalities. His mother was very sickly, which made her incapable of taking care of him at a very young age. Hence, he spent most of his youth with the Kurans-or Kaname Kuran's family to be exact. His cousins have proven to be better familial support over his very distant father.

Shiki learned to accept rejection at a very young age. It wasn't that he had gained wisdom beyond his years, it was just that he had no other choice. Sometimes, it wasn't so bad to gaze into silver linings and think that  _life isn't so bad_ despite the fact that lesser evils are still fundamentally averse from good.

He doesn't remember much from his father. He saw more of the man in television than in real life. His mother didn't have to tell him that they had already divorced before Shiki even entered middle school.

Kaname was enigma to Shiki. Even at a very young age, Shiki knew there was something special in the wine-haired man. Kaname was a level-headed kid who was intelligent and polite, a model child. While Shiki shared the same reserved nature, he did not have the charismatic pull the Kuran had on his audience.

Staying out of the limelight taught Shiki a lot of lessons from observing his peers and classmates. It taught him a lot of lessons about Kaname Kuran. For one, Kaname Kuran was not a normal person.

He started seeing the symptoms during middle school. Kaname became more reserved and less interactive. He could see it in his eyes sometimes, a calculating gaze or an observant look. It was some form of curiosity over something Shiki couldn't decipher. He let it pass as everyone had their own unnatural habits out of their control.

The change wasn't gradual, but it wasn't channeled into anything physical. Hence, there was always an uncontrolled desire pent up in the wine-haired man that Shiki had observed more than once in his youth. He learned to live with that knowledge until he graduated high school and had to part ways with Kaname. They still kept in touch with the occasional invitation to a family dinner.

His mother passes away come freshman year of college. He was distraught and shaken. He knew it was bound to happen, but expectation didn't protect him from the pain of losing a loved one. He finds Kaname with his family, still wearing that opaque expression to mask his simple incapability of feeling. The wine-haired man never lost the sense of courtesy, but his aura definitely changed. Kaname pays his respects, and Shiki accepts the condolences. It was sincere, but not resonant.

Shiki finds his father during the wake, and he sees some form of emotion in his eyes. Perhaps, the man has learned something from his actress wife.

Shiki and Kaname cross paths yet again, come junior year of college. This time, Kaname loses his parents to a tragic car accident. He sees it in the older man's eyes, that calculating gaze finally meeting its end. He knows that sparked an opportunity for the wine-haired man to finally justify his abnormality. And like usual, Shiki remains collected and calm. It wasn't like he could do anything. It wasn't like Kaname hurt anyone.

However, that perspective changed after graduation as the academic completion had left everyone at an unbelievable high. It was when he met up with an old friend to catch up that he finally understood that this wasn't a mere abnormality that Kaname had. It was a curse for the monster that resided in the other man. Alcohol can release so much from anyone, it was almost a drug. A poison, perhaps.

His flaxen-haired friend had come clean to him. Kaname was not only a formidable character; he was also astoundingly influential. Yet again; he remains a spectator, only a scathing tongue to the upsetting reality.

It wasn't difficult to realize that he wasn't capable of saving everyone, and that Kaname's wrath was grave and unforgiving. He was aware of half of the unsavory affairs of that Kaname got himself involved in, but he had neither the energy nor the power to convince anyone to go against the prince-like individual. Other than that, he does still consider himself to be indebted to his family, maybe not Kaname himself but his parents.

That was his story, the tragic background character who will never amount to anything. Shiki frowns at the thought as he stands up from his bent position, his eyes never leaving the headstone of his late mother. The dark haired man sighs and feels a fresh breeze of air pass him, "What makes you so different, Zero Kiryuu?"

* * *

"N-no more," Zero shakily begged.

It was music to Kaname's ears. The ambrosiac taste of desperation, fear, and humiliation all being offered to him in a singular moment of domination. Kaname pushed himself closer the silverette beneath him, and buried his face on the shorter man's neck as he left a trail of marks, claiming possession of the freshly tainted purity.

Zero clenched his fists as the pain started to mix with pleasure. He could feel hot tears run down his face because of the sin of feeling that small ounce of pleasure from the overwhelming pain.

Kaname smirked and pressed against the silverette's stomach, to feel his intrusion inside the weaker man. Zero clenched his eyes shut at the action, desperate to push the offending limb away. However, Kaname only pressed harder and almost felt the impact of the movement.

Kaname positioned himself lower, so much closer to the trembling figure of Zero. He pressed light kisses on the silverette's cheek, trailing down to the other man's lips as he fervently caught him in a passionate kiss which was not reciprocated.

With this, Kaname pulled away from Zero to fully appreciate the pliant and drugged state of the once proud silverette, "I'm giving you a choice."

This immediately grabbed Zero's attention, as the silver-haired man tried to look in defiance at Kaname with hazy eyes, still under the influence. Kaname noted that this action made Zeros body soften and loosen a little around Kaname's girth, making the painfully tight orifice a lot more bearable and pleasurable.

"I can take off the handcuffs," Kaname draws a breath and Zero understands that this was meant to be a bargain, "but I would have to break your wrists."

Zero draws a sharp breath. He couldn't help the hot tears threatening to fall from his eyes, nor his physiological reaction to tense and tighten up.

Kaname's smile widens at the reaction. Perhaps, pity was the appropriate emotion for these situations. Nonetheless, it was a lie. With another victim, he would have done the exact threat without a verbal warning but Zero Kiryuu is different. He was a rarity.

Zero started shaking his head, attempting to run away from Kaname in vain through pushing himself upwards and off the wine-haired man. Zero clenched his eyes shut, as if trying to pretend that the man in front of him was not there.

"I was merely giving you a choice," Kaname spoke in a saccharine tone, "you didn't have to react so violently, love."

"You didn't have to," Kaname grunted as he ejaculated inside the silverette and gradually pulled out and merely stared at the pained expression the man below him. Kaname's lips twitch upward, "I'm sorry but I can't let you be awake while I do my work."

Kaname presses a kiss on Zero's forehead, "Rest"

Without warning, Kaname injects something on Zero's arm causing the latter's form to limp and completely lose consciousness. The wine-haired man immediately removes the cuffs on Zero's arms and scans the reddened flesh for anything potentially permanent and finds none of the kind.

Kaname kisses the silverette's wrists and controls Zero's hands to cup his face as he basks in the feel of the warm and soft flesh.

* * *

"Where's nii-san?"

Yuuki frowned at the question, still unsure of what to tell the younger Kiryuu. It's been four days since Zero was missing. There have been no leads up to that point and Ichiru's persistence on knowing his brother's whereabouts have only been getting stronger.

"There's something you haven't been telling me."

Yuuki's expression deepens at the accusatory tone. She lets out a deep breath and walks to the foot of Ichiru's bed, sitting at the unoccupied corner. She looks up at the silverette and unwittingly jumps at the unexpected look of anger that was a considerable shift from his usual blank stare.

"Ichiru...your brother loves you very much but," Yuuki trails off.

An unspoken inquiry of, "but what?" makes its way through the thick air between the two.

"He's been out of reach two days before you woke up."

"Out of reach?"

Yuuki sighs and decides to disclose everything she knew. Ichiru deserved that much, "We've already filed a missing persons case. Ichiru, I'm so sorry."

Silence filled the room.

"There was nothing you could do."

Yuuki's interest pikes up at the strange remark, "What do you mean?"

Ichiru had a tight expression on his face, "Weeks before I woke up, I started having these lucid intervals."

"Lucid intervals," Yuuki muttered before a sudden realization hit her, "Do you mean…?"

Ichiru pressed his lips contemplatively and nodded, "I've been hearing a lot from my brother's new assignment, and he hasn't been telling me the best things about this man."

"Are you saying that Kuran is  _responsible_ for this?"

"I'm not saying he is directly, but he's probably involved."

Yuuki took the matter into consideration but didn't give in. She couldn't just accept someone's blurry memories as fact, "Ichiru, I'm sorry but what makes you think so."

"The last time my brother visited, he said that his patient gave him flowers for a recent outburst. The details aren't as clear, but one thing I picked up on is that the flowers were delivered to his home and not his office."

Yuuki shot up at the statement and hastily apologized before bidding goodbye, "I think I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Ichiru."

Ichiru sent her a small smile and called out her name, "Yuuki"

Yuuki looked back at the serene expression of the silverette as the latter voiced out, "please bring him back...soon"

Yuuki nodded and gave Ichiru an assuring smile as she walked out the hospital to go straight to Zero's home. If Kaname knew where Zero lived, it was also likely that the silverette's flat was the exact place he abducted the man. Yuuki grit her teeth. It was right in front of her eyes; they've been talking about the man for weeks. She should've known.

Yuuki called Kaito on his way to Zero's place, having already hailed a cab.

"Yuuki? Any progress?"

"No, but I'll be at Zero's flat in a few minutes. Can you follow?"

"They've already searched the place. This is just false hope."

"They wouldn't know what to look for because they  _don't know everything._ "

"We don't  _know everything_ either, Yuuki. It's a lost cause, maybe we should look elsewhere."

"Kaito, no, listen. Ichiru talked to me earlier. He said he had these lucid intervals, and mentioned something that can help us find Zero."

A small bout of silence fell upon both lines before Kaito replied, "Have you informed the police?"

"No, I'll tell them later. I need to find this out for myself  _now._ You can come if you want to but nothing's stopping me," Yuuki ended the call.

There was something unbelievably unsettling about this. Yuuki knew that Zero was capable of defending himself, but he had no fight against the influence and power of the young Kuran. The paranoia that she may never be able to see her friend again crept up on her, and the voice at the back of her mind said  _alive, that is._

* * *

Kaito entered the unlocked home of his silver-haired friend to see Yuuki sitting alone on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

"Yuuki," Kaito tested.

No response.

"Yuuki?"

"I heard you the first time," an unusually small voice coming from the dark-haired girl responded. Her voice almost broke as she continued, "he's really gone, isn't he?"

"No. Look, we're gonna find him eventually and things are gonna go back to normal. We'll make it through this."

"I really hope so too."

"Yuuki, it's okay if you didn't find what you were looking for but we can't lose hope now. Zero's still out there, maybe he just got lost in the countryside on a commute because he slept on the bus. It's not that much of a reach."

Yuuki's hands started shaking as she clenched them on top of her lap, tears threatening to fall any moment. Kaito noticed the small nuance and the noticeable hunch that the dark-haired girl would usually do when she wanted to hide her face, "Yuuki…"

Yuuki spoke in a shaky tone, "No"

Kaito approached Yuuki and sat right beside her, enveloping her in a comforting hug, "It's gonna be okay."

Yuuki pushed Kaito's hands away after a while, having recovered from the breakdown she had just a few moments prior. She wipes her tears before looking at her friend, "Ichiru said he's been getting lucid intervals weeks before he woke up. He's been talking about Kuran, and mentioned him delivering flowers to his house. I didn't find the flowers, but I found this card."

_I'm sorry for my previous outburst. I asked the landlord to give these to you. – K.K._

"I went down and asked the landlord about someone calling her in to deliver the flowers, but she told me no one has ever approached her to deliver anything on anyone's unit. Not only that, but she's been away one week ago."

That was when Kaito realized the gravity of the situation entirely, "So Kaname has been going in and out of Zero's flat all this time?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

Kaito leaned back, "It's possible, but we can't just point fingers this easy. This only proves that Kaname has close contact with Zero."

"No," Yuuki, for once, became the more logical of the two, "it proves that Kaname  _lied_ to Zero, and is able to go in and out of his flat without Zero even  _knowing._ "

Kaito takes the card and rereads the note, only to realize the small detail he overlooked, "Shit."

* * *

_Ichiru Kiryuu._

_Yuuki Cross._

_Kaito Takamiya._

_Cross Kaien._

_Yagari Toga_.

If Kaname erased Zero Kiryuu from the world, he would significantly affect five individuals. It wasn't that big of a number, but it wasn't small either. Some aren't fortunate enough to even have one, so five wasn't anything to be belittled. Kaname frowned at his mistake.

_Kaname Kuran._

Six. The wine-haired man only met the silverette a little over six weeks, yet the obsession seemed to have run so deep that losing the other man may have unintended repercussions on his life. He contemplates on the value of this information.  _Was Zero just a temporary obsession or an incomprehensible long term attachment?_

Kaname can behave for the public, it was the epicenter of his lessons in his youth but deep down, he understood that he was a very vile human being. It was easy. They say that you can't cure his disability. The best case scenario is to have themselves live a normal life by having a deep understanding of the qualities normal people naturally possess, and following the rationality behind these qualities without ever having any profound effect on one's person at all.

It wasn't fair, but it was a realistic goal.

One Kaname never conformed to.

Kaname leaned back from his chair, putting himself away from his thoughts and back to reality. The walls of the room his captive and he were in had been painted a dull grey color which was uniform in all six flat exteriors except for the wall behind Zero which had the door. The silverette and he were seated in finely crafted mahogany chairs, a vibrant contrast of brown to the dull grey. A small round table was in between them, with no objects on top to occupy the bareness of the furniture.

Maybe, Zero was his muse and he was simple divine inspiration sent by some altruistic god who wanted to stop Kaname's misdeeds and pin them all on one unsuspecting individual. It was utilitarian, but not morally sound.  _Were gods obligated to make morally sound decisions?_

_He thinks not._

Kaname raised his hand, a handgun held with a steady grip as he fired a shot at Zero's direction. His aim had missed just a few inches from the silverette's shoulder. This caused the latter to jump by instinct, a mixture of shock and disbelief painted on his face, "What's wrong with you!?"

"The silence was deafening. I have three to spare. I can't guarantee you that I'll miss the next time around."

"What do you want?"

"I told you we'll play a game."

"You have the mind of a child."

Kaname retorted, "and the power of a  _god._ "

Zero bites back, "children are prone to succumb to unrealistic fantasies."

A gunshot to the light at the left corner of the room left the poorly lit space at a dimmer setting, "Monsters are real, Zero."

Kaname stood up from his chair and made slow steady steps towards the bound silverette, each tap of his shoes echoing at a deafening level from the ear-splitting silence that had enveloped the room.

Stopping in front of Zero, Kaname leaned forward and pressed the gun to Zero's forehead, "I've been soft on you. Your defiance is commendable but it won't keep you alive for long."

"And you'll kill me," Zero spoke tauntingly.

Kaname leaned even closer, "What's the diagnosis, doctor? I should explain the situation to you, shouldn't I? My gun is pointed at your head, and I believe that my aim is quite accurate from this distance. Your limbs are tied and useless. The drugs won't leave your system for the next six hours. And, to conclude my observations, you also appear to challenge the man who holds your life in his hands."

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done that days ago."

"You underestimate your entertainment value to me, love, but you also underestimate me."

Zero closed his mouth shut at the clear provocation. Kaname noticed the tight-lipped response and put down his gun, "Not all threats are physical, Zero Kiryuu. You are important to me, but the ones you love mean nothing."

"I didn't think you were one to keep baseless promises, Kuran."

"Ichiru Kiryuu, confined for four years at Ichijou hospital because of a coma induced by excessive blood loss-other confidential information not disclosed in medical file. He resides in room 20B, and had only gained consciousness a few days ago."

Zero's eyes shot up, "You're lying."

"Now, I'll offer you a deal."

"Do you get off on this."

"Of course, I do. You offer me your obedience for the next two days and I give you ten minutes to speak with your brother. If you mention anything about our  _arrangement_ , I'll quickly forfeit the offer and add a little punishment."

"No."

"Not even for your little brother?"

Kaname put down the gun on the bare table in between the two chairs as he walked off to his side of the room, his steps still slow and steady-the unnerving sound of tapping occupied the entirety of the room. He picked up a small shuffling noise, but decided not to act upon it.

Zero swiftly managed to pull out one arm from the bondage, and grabbed the gun in front of him in record time. He points the gun at Kaname and shouts, "Make one move and you're dead."

"Interesting," Kaname smiled from his position, hearing the clatter of the slated steel against glass.

"I'm serious. Make one  _move_."

Kaname turned around to face the silverette, an amused expression still painted on his face, "Do you consider that  _movement_?"

"Or perhaps," Kaname trailed off as he walked closer to the silverette with a steady pace and leaned forward to put his forehead directly on the muzzle, "you need better aim?"

Zero kept his expression firm, despite his shaky grip on the gun, "Don't taunt me."

"How deep is your hate, Zero?"

Zero glared at the dark-haired man, still unwilling to play into the other's mind games.

"Deep enough to kill?"

Kaname looked into amethyst pools, the unflinching deep burgundy challenging the other to commit the crime. With this, the wine-haired man felt the other's grip weaken and he took this opportunity to disarm the silverette, grabbing the gun with swift precision.

"I'll finish the job for you," Kaname held the gun on his head, one finger on the trigger. The smile on his face had gone sour.

Zero watched the horrific spectacle and started shaking his head, muttering a string of "no's" to Kaname's action. He knew the other man was messed up but it didn't have to end like this. No one had to die for this sake.

"Do you hate me, Zero? Would you let me die alone in front of you?"

"Kuran, don't!"

Click.

Kaname's hand slowly fell from one side of his face as his grip loosened and the small firearm fell from his grip. A wide grin broke out from his face, "I never knew you cared that much, Zero."

Zero's attention was diverted to the gun, which didn't fire the shot like he expected it to. Kaname noticed the shift in attention and bent down to hold the silverette's face with one hand, "Of course there were only two bullets. You're not the first, but if you behave well: I can make you the last and  _my only one_."


	8. Would you do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I _gay gasped_ at this chapter lmao. Enjoooy!

"Would you do it, Zero?"

* * *

Zero's arms wrapped around a similar built man as the latter roughly thrust up into his lithe frame. The silverette trembled at the impact from the forceful action, but wasn't able to offer any words of dissent as he helplessly struggled to bite off any unwanted sounds so that his parents wouldn't hear them, one room away.

The silverette's partner maintained his pace, his arms possessively groping the silverette's ass with a steady grip. Upon noticing Zero struggle to keep quiet, the other man captured his lips in a passionate kiss. The silverette lets himself be lost in the desperate kiss while he allows the other man to take full control of the situation.

Once Zero has found his strength, he starts meeting the other man's thrusts. He could feel the cock inside of him grow bigger, which only meant that the man below him was about to come. With this, Zero broke free from the kiss and tried to suppress any other sound from coming out of his mouth when he whispered, "S-shit, I'm close."

The grip on Zero's ass tightened as the younger man pushed the silverette down to meet a particularly deep and steady thrust.

"I love you, Zero."

The other man released himself inside the silverette, causing the other to momentarily quiver at the wet feeling. Zero came not soon after. Zero pressed a kiss on a flushed cheek and spoke a small affirmation in small voice.

* * *

"Your freedom for his assurance,"

* * *

"You're so good to me, Zero," Zero heard him whisper, as the latter traced the outline of silverette's face with one hand. Zero rubbed his face against soft palms in affection as he held the other man's face with his own hands, and pulled himself up to kiss the other man.

The taller of the two slowly thrust himself inside Zero, careful to maintain that slow pace so that the older Kiryuu can get used to his girth. Zero enjoyed the gentle treatment coming from his partner.

Zero pulled out from the kiss, a genuine smile painted on a flushed canvas. His hands drifted lower to hold onto to his partner's shoulders as he felt the other man's pacing pick up. This time around, the other man leaned down to capture Zero's lips.

The silverette's partner leans forward to close the small gap in between their bodies, as the older Kiryuu's legs spread wider with the sudden movement. Zero gasps at the action and instinctively wraps his arms around the younger man's broad back. The silverette clenched his fists shut as he tried not to leave any marks on the unmarred skin.

"I love you, Ichiru."

* * *

"Do you love him, Zero?"

Silence.

"I do."

Kaname saw desperation in glassy amethyst hues, conveying deep affection from its gaze. However, more than that, there was a certain nuance to the Zero's expression. It was one so painfully foreign to the silverette's usual calm demeanor; a darker expression conveying negative emotions. It wasn't fear or disgust.

Kaname narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

Shame.

"Are you lying to me?"

Zero shook his head and continued eating, ignoring the unwavering stare from the dark-haired man.

Kaname let the silence slip for the moment as he ate in peace.

* * *

Zero wakes up in an unfamiliar environment. The customary wine-haired individual was nowhere in sight. Was this another one of Kaname's games? Zero could only hope.

A tall light-haired man makes his presence known with a cough, "Zero Kiryuu?"

Zero nodded, clearly confused about the situation. He didn't even find it in himself to be weary of the blonde man in front of him. Any person that wasn't Kaname Kuran was preferred company.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a close friend of Kaname's."

Zero's blood ran cold. Any association with the wine-haired man was bad news...but, it's not like he had a choice.

"What do you want from me?"

"I'm not quite sure either" Takuma admitted, "but it's been so long since I've seen Kaname so enraptured with anyone."

Takuma paused to think, "in fact, I don't think I've ever seen him this infatuated with anyone."

Takuma sat in front of the confused silverette, "Has he tried breaking you already?"

Zero's fists clenched on the Bone-colored sheets of the bed his foot was chained to. He didn't notice the bondage until he unconsciously tried to come closer to the flaxen-haired man.

The interior of the room was unlike the common theme recurrent in Kaname's home. Unlike the Crimson and Marble palace that was the wine-haired man's home; this place was gold and bone, with hints of aquamarine blue. There was no doubt that it was a rich man's place, but the mere visage of the room had told him that he wasn't in the same place he was days ago.

Takuma walked towards Zero and sat in front of the silverette. He put a hand on the other's thigh, which earned him a glare and a violent reaction. The blonde man wasn't deterred as he caresses the length of Zero's thigh in a suggestive manner.

"I can see how he is so enraptured with you."

"How did I get here?"

"I did it as a favor...to a good friend I owed a favor to. I'm not sure if I saved you, but I'm sure that you would end up with a better end with my friend rather than with Kaname."

Zero frowned. The blonde man in front of him didn't answer his question at all, "Won't he kill you too?"

"Kaname and I are different people with the same sickness. The only difference is how we cope with it."

"How do you cope with it?"

"With some mechanisms that are less destructive."

Zero raised his gaze to meet a deceptively kind expression painted on a handsome face, "so you've known all this time that your  _friend has been doing God knows what_ and you do nothing about it? It's very telling of who you are."

That seemed to snap Takuma out of his saccharine mask, "You know nothing."


End file.
